Resources
Why preserve my fertility?
Medical conditions affecting fertility
There are a number of medical conditions which can impair fertility or prevent a pregnancy, including:
- Turners Syndrome
- Autoimmune conditions (e.g. lupus, rheumatoid arthritis)
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
- Endometriosis
- Uterine Fibroids and Polyps
- Endocrine system disorders (e.g. thyroid and adrenal disorders, diabetes)
- STDs (e.g. pelvic inflammatory disease)
- Structural anomalies (e.g. problems with the male or female reproductive system)
- Cancer (e.g. active cancer or chemotherapy)
Fertility preservation treatment can help mitigate and maximise chances of successfully conceiving a child and completing a much-wanted family.
Not ready for children
A range of factors can mean an individual is not ready to conceive and parent a child, including:
- career building
- financial reasons (not feeling sufficiently financially stable)
- not yet met the right partner
- not emotionally ready to have a child
Fertility preservation treatment can help mitigate the constraints of the biological clock and declining fertility levels (particularly for women) and other risks (e.g. illness).
Unexpected illness, injury or death
An accident, injury or death can strike at any time. This can result in impaired or lost fertility for you and undermine family building wishes of your loved ones (e.g. partner, aspiring grandparents).
Risks include: road traffic accidents, terrorism, fire, high risk activities (skiing, diving, climbing), serious infections (e.g. meningitis, sepsis), stroke or heart attack.
Do I need legal advice?
Specialist legal advice can help manage a range of legal issues associated with fertility preservation and maximisation for future family building purposes, including:
- Tailored advice about fertility preservation options and law
- Tailored advice about future family building options and law
- Giving informed legal (as opposed to medical) consent to fertility preservation and treatment at a UK fertility clinic
- Tailored advice about posthumous conception
Transitioning gender
Changing gender can result in infertility. This makes it important to consider fertility preservation options before undertaking gender reassignment hormone or surgical treatment. This will help maximise chances of achieving biological child/ren in future through assisted conception.
Click here to read more about fertility preservation, treatment and law for trans and non-binary individuals.
Member of the armed forces
Before deployment for active duty, you may wish to freeze eggs, sperm or embryos in case of injury. This can help maximise the chances of a family in future.
What fertility preservation options are there?
There are various fertility preservation options, including:
- egg freezing
- ovarian tissue freezing (still experimental and there is only limited data available on its efficacy)
- sperm freezing
- testicular tissue freezing (still experimental and has not yet lead to any reported births)
- embryo freezing
